Uncategorized | Dog Eaters

Incheon and Seoul

Posted on 04.01.16 under dongdaemun, incheon, korea, korean wedding, seoul, Uncategorized

A quick two-nighter to Korea for Jonah and Hanna’s wedding. It’s only a 2+ hour flight and an hour and half from Tokyo to Narita, but it’s still a trip to another country.

And a bus ride from the terminal to the plane.

It was a late flight, got in at midnight…

Incheon is an island, the infrastructure is new, neat, clean. Construction from the room window.

You may hear stories about the toilets in Korea, but as you can see, this hotel has great toilets!

Took the shuttle bus back to the airport.

All the architecture is new, so there is a cohesive but sterile feel to it all.

This is the Airport Railroad to Seoul. It is twice as expensive as the “All Stop” train and not that much faster but the seats are reserved and nicer.

Like an airline, they had a magazine in the back of the seat. It was fun to see this Eau de Toilette in a kitchen spray bottle.

Strange seascape-like terrain, it looked like they were draining the water or something.

Train stations and trains reminded me of Singapore. Japan is noted for it transport, and rightly so. There are more trains and they run more often, but the infrastructure is older than Korea’s. Korea just looks more slick. They speak more English than the Japanese as well. However, they are aggressive on foot, always trying to cut in front of you.

Got out at Dongdaemun, a big wholesale shopping area. We went there to buy accessories for Blythe.

I guess the tourists need policing. Actually, it was like an information center. We found out that the wholesale market was closed on weekends (it was Saturday) and they were open from night til morning.

We followed this river to the market that was open. Typical Asian market that had 7 floors filled with booth-stores.

Next time, the shopper should stay at this Marriot Hotel.

The next day was the wedding. We would return to Tokyo right after.

Had a better look at the window and realized that this was the maglev train from the airport to the coast, mostly for tourists.

The wedding venue was like a drive-through restaurant.

The indispensable wedding planner with Jonah’s mother, Kathy.

Jonah’s older brother, Jordan.

The sign. There’s a wedding and photos every hour.

Hanna’s parents.

Jordan’s girlfriend.

This haircut is very trendy in Incheon and Seoul. Must be inspired by the Beatles or the Three Stooges.

Jonah, the groom, gets his funk on.

The mothers prepare to proceed to the altar.

Floor was as reflective as water.

I was pleasantly surprised when Hanna came out on her father’s arm belting a K-Pop song.

What a strong voice with a great range!

A pretty long speech in Korean, a bow…

They had a slide show and played a video in both English and Korean with subtitles thanking their families.

Hanna’s mom got a kick out of Jonah’s kowtow. I think that was his idea.

He did the same to his family and they got had to laugh.

There was an additional shoot in the Korean Room.

The attendants, cameraman, and videographer had it wired. The whole thing went like clockwork.

There was a series of rituals which included the parents throwing chestnuts to see how many children they would have and then —

A piggyback ride, which I was not sure what the symbolism was. Maybe that the husband would support the wife?

A lot was packed into that hour and a half.

When a friend passes…

Posted on 03.20.16 under Uncategorized

Too soon, too young.

Yammie had a stroke and died a day or so after her 57th birthday. She led a full life. She participated in the Paris-Dakar race for 4 years in the 80s where she met her husband and the father of their two daughters. Junko encouraged and and advised her on her creative project that addressed environmental concerns, Yappoo! We had exhibitions of that artwork at our galleries in 2004 and 2007.

Yumi Matsutoya, a major Japanese recording artist, was a close from friend from the Paris-Dakar races. She sang two songs at Yammie’s Celebration of Life.

Yammie’s daughters, Hana on the left, and Saki on the right. Saki studied star navigation in Hawaii and has sailed on the Hōkūleʻa, a traditional Hawaiian sailing vessel.